Home Remedies
by Lady Henrietta
Summary: One-shot somewhere in season 4: Laura's stuck in a meeting with an embarrassing problem. Can Bill help?


Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Home Remedies

President Laura Roslin was frustrated. The Quorum members had been arguing about the distribution of supplies, regarding who the suppliers were and the need for a change in reorganizing the section managing the clothing. Lee and Zarek had put themselves in the middle of the discussion, drawing in also the captains of two ships that handled the barter system. Admiral Bill Adama had been dragged over for the meeting by the captains.

Laura knew that tensions would only escalate if she said the wrong thing to the groups involved. The press had been breathing down her throat again, ripping apart the last speech she had given. She glanced down at the paper in front of her and sighed, trying to revise the speech with her pen.

_I wish I could just tell them all to shut up about their petty differences. This whole discussion is ridiculous_, she rationalized. To ease her nerves, she picked up the tall glass of cool water in front of her and gulped it down. Though it was refreshing, the process of quickly drinking the water had abruptly produced an incredibly unwanted side affect.

She froze as a hiccup passed through her. Trying to mask it, she cleared her throat. Unfortunately another hiccup followed, and then a third, like an enemy assault bent on making her day as difficult as possible. _Oh this is bad._ _If I don't stop these, everyone will think I'm drunk_. Then she tried holding her breath. As that effort failed as well, she stood quickly, feeling every eye in the room turn to her.

"If you'll excuse me a moment, I just remembered that I have something important to take care of," she said in one quick breath before any more hiccups could escape, dashing out of the room.

Bill looked over at Tory with worry. A silent exchange passed between them, to which she nodded and followed the president. Upon passing behind the curtain, Tory found Roslin with one hand on her desk. "Madame President, are you alright? Do you want me to call Dr. Cottle?"

The older woman shook her head. "That's not… necessary. I… can't seem to… make them stop," she said in between hiccups.

"Have you tried holding your breath?" Tory recommended.

Another hiccup. "Yes, and obviously… it didn't work. We don't… have any… lemon juice, do… we?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Perhaps the admiral can help," Tory stated, leaving the room before Roslin could stop her.

She walked out and tapped Adama on the shoulder. He stood and walked through the curtain. "Laura, what's wrong?"

Roslin looked up at him, a hint of desperation in her eyes. "I can't… stop these… hiccups."

He grinned with relief. "Is that all this is about?"

She placed her hands on her hips. "This is… not… funny. I need… help."

"You've tried holding your breath, right?" he inquired.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Tory just… asked me that. It… didn't work. This… is so embarrassing… Adults are… not supposed… to get the… hiccups."

"How about standing on your head?" he suggested with a smirk.

To that, he received the 'over the glasses' glare. "It would give me a headache."

He folded his hands in front of him. "What about scaring yourself? We could find an airlock and-"

"Bill Adama, if… you think I'm… going to… take a walk… through an… airlock, hoping that… the fear of it… being activated… will cure my… hiccups, then you're… the one… who's going… to be in… the airlock," she interrupted.

He stepped closer to her. "Then I'll just have to show you the Adama family cure."

"And if... it doesn't... work?" she questioned.

"Then I'll try Plan B," he responded.

She gasped when he placed one hand toward the middle of her back, and the other on her diaphragm, sandwiching her between his hands. As he pressed her, she felt the hiccups coming for another sneak attack, but then somehow they didn't finish their ambush. As he released her, she noticed that she was breathing normally.

Laura looked up at him, perplexed. "What did you do?"

"Hiccups can sometimes turn into an involuntary reaction. By preventing you from hiccupping, I stopped the reaction. It's something my grandmother taught me, and that I've used often. Zack and Lee used to get the hiccups all the time when they were young," he answered, standing in front of her.

"Thank you. If that hadn't worked, what was Plan B?" she asked.

"Oh, not much," he began, sliding a hand under her chin. "Just this."

He kissed her gently. She placed a hand on his chest, not to push him away, but to hold him closer, lightly gripping his lapel. When they pulled back, her eyes glittered mischievously. "As much as I like Plan A's effectiveness, Plan B is more appealing."

Grinning, he let his hand linger on her cheek. "True."

"You wouldn't happen to have any more home remedies that you'd like to share, would you? A 'Plan C' perhaps?" she inquired, giving him a flirtatious smile.

"Why don't you join me for dinner and we'll see how many I can remember?" he responded.

"I like that idea," she mentioned as they stepped back into the meeting room. He pulled her chair out for her before reclaiming his own.

Lee eyed the two with curiosity. "Madame President, do you mind if I ask what you and the admiral were discussing?"

She simply folded her hands on the table in front of her knowing that she had the upper hand in this situation. "Just home remedies." Not having a clue as to what she had meant, the younger man had to shake his head and turn his attention back to the fleet's trading situation.

Fin………………………………..

(A/N: I got this particular cure for hiccups out of a book called "Up The Notched-Log Ladder")


End file.
